NANO 3D PRINTING

NANO 3D PRINTING makenica.com/nano-3d-printing September 22, 2020

3D printing, also known as additive manufacturing is the process of fabricating 3D objects, layer by layer, from a digital model.

This technology has taken the world by storm in recent years and is developing rapidly in all sectors. So why should the industry of nanotechnology stay behind?

This article is all about the use of 3D printing services in the world of nanotechnology.

WHAT IS NANOTECHNOLOGY? Nanotechnology is a field of research and innovation concerned with the manipulation of materials and devices which are extremely small in size (1-100 nanometres).

One nanometre is a billionth of a meter. For reference, the diameter of a hair, on average, is 80,000 nanometres.

WHAT IS NANO 3D PRINTING? 3D printing is widely being used in many sectors to produce objects at a large scale and for creating big structures. For example, 3D printing is being used in the construction industry to 3D print buildings!

But is it possible to 3D print at a nanoscale? Well, now it is!

With the development of advanced 3D printing techniques like two-photon lithography and electron beam lithography, it's now possible to print nano 3D objects.

A team based at Harvard University and the University of Illinois have already employed the use of 3D printing to print lithium-ion microbatteries the size of a grain of sand. Furthermore, companies like Nanoscribe have developed a machine called Photonic Professional GT which can 3D print objects as small as only a few microns.

There are several techniques for printing 3d nanostructures.

1. Two-Photon Lithography (TPL)

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It is a high-resolution 3D printing technique that can produce nanoscale features even smaller than one-hundredth the width of a human hair.

Material required for TPL includes a thin glass slide, a lens, and an immersion oil to direct the laser light onto a fine point to cure and print photoresistive materials. It is capable of producing features smaller than the laser light spot (less than 150 nm). No other printing process is yet capable of matching this scale.

2. Electron Beam Lithography (EBL) It is a process that integrates 3D printing with mould making. In this, a focused beam of electrons is scanned to make custom shapes on a surface covered with an electronsensitive film called a resist.

In Zhejiang University, China, a team of researchers is exploring this technology in order to create metal-based nanoscale structures using ice.

The additive manufacturing industry is evolving as new technologies are being developed to 3D print metals. Although 3D printing metal parts on a large scale are now possible, the nanoscale 3D printing of metals is still not so easy. But with this new process, there are several possibilities for making a metal nanostructure.

CONCLUSION Both additive manufacturing and nanotechnology are revolutionary technologies that are changing the ways of several industries, ranging from the medical industry to chemistry and even consumer products.

Applying 3D printing services to nanotechnology could be a game-changer that would bring several advantages to the process of nanofabrication - speed, less waste, economic viability. These processes can be used for manufacturing several ground-breaking structures like bioscaffolds, nano filters and even nanorobots. The possibilities are endless.

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